Refusing to conduct surgery based on a person's HIV status is an infringement on one's right to equality, the National Human Rights Commission said Monday.
Recently, a petition was filed with the NHRC by a person who was turned down after trying to book surgery for cervical and spinal stenosis at a Seoul-based hospital. According to the hospital, its medical staff had decided that the patient's conditions did not require surgery, and recommended treatment at another hospital since none of the staff are trained to deal with HIV.
However, the petitioner said that the surgery had been booked after consultation with the hospital's doctors, debunking the hospital's claims about not needing surgery.
The NHRC ruled that the hospital's actions were discriminatory, and constituted a violation of the right to equality, as stipulated in Article 11 of Korea's Constitution. It advised the hospital to instill measures to prevent such a thing from happening again, and to conduct related training for its staff.
"There have been a number of petitions about treatments being refused for those infected with HIV ... We will continue to address problems of discrimination based on one's medical history," the NHRC said.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
